PHOTO: Shawn Huang/ World Journal
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It was set to be an eventful affair at Levi’s Stadium as Mikael Stahre’s San Jose Earthquakes, one of the worst teams in MLS history, hosted Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.
However, in a surprising twist of fate, the Quakes, who played with tenacity and commitment, managed to salvage a scoreless draw throughout a 90 minutes where they generated more chances at goal and recorded the team’s first clean sheet of the season. The Red Devils, who were led by Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Martial in the attack, are in the midst of a preseason tour without 11 of their star players due to the World Cup, but even then, United’s manager, Jose Mourinho praised San Jose’s play.
“I was not looking for that,” Mourinho said bluntly. “I was more focused on us. I think it’s always nice for them to play against a team like Manchester United, even if it’s not the first-team, even if it’s a group of players with Manchester United shirts.”
“I think it’s always a motivation for them (Quakes), and they were enthusiastic,” Mourinho added. “They played serious. You could see in the yellow cards, you could see in tactical fouls they made to stop counter-attacks and so on. They did it the way it has to be, and I thank them for that because it was competitive.”
Whether it was due to playing against some of the game’s spellbinding names or not, there was a clear sense of untapped motivation from San Jose’s players, who registered 11 shots and nearly took the lead when Yeferson Quintana’s header struck the crossbar. For Stahre, who was “pretty happy” with his side’s performance, facing United was the ideal circumstance to showcase some defensive stability ahead of crucial league matches.
“I think we handled it well,” Stahre said. “I told the guys before the game, ‘Of course it’s a friendly game for Manchester United to play against an MLS team, you know. Next week they are playing against such better teams.'”
“For us it was very important to stay in this game and not get smashed and also create some chances,” he added. “We did that, so I must say I’m a happy coach right now.”
The Quakes, who featured two, distinct lineups in each half, saw the debuts of their 16-year-old homegrown players, Gilbert Fuentes and Jacob Akanyirige, and of their summer signing, Guram Kashia. JT Marcinkoswki, who played the first half, made his first start for the Bay Area side.
